Cup of Yum
1. Butter two 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pans, and dust the inside of the pans with flour to coat. Shake off excess flour. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 325°F / 170°C.
3. Weigh out all the ingredients and keep them close at hand. Sift the flour and baking powder (optional) and set aside in a bowl.
4. Optional step - if you're using granulated cane sugar, place the sugar in a food processor and pulse a few times to get a finer sugar texture.
5. Place your mixer bowl on a weighing scale and note the weight. Remove the mixing bowl from the weighing scale and place it in your stand mixer with the beater attachment attached.
6. Place the softened butter and salt in the bowl and cream the butter until light, creamy, and fluffy (between 3 - 7 minutes), at medium speed (speed 4 - 5 on a kitchen aid mixer). Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure you collect all of the butter.
7. Add the sugar in a thin, steady stream WHILE the butter is being mixed (you can also add the sugar a tablespoon at a time). It should take approximately 1 min to incorporate the sugar into the butter. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that the sugar is evenly mixed.
8. Cream the butter and sugar for a further 2 - 3 minutes.
9. Break an egg into a small bowl, and make sure there are no egg shells. Break the egg yolk, and then pour the egg in a stream into the butter-sugar mix. Mix for about 20 - 30 seconds until the egg has incorporated into the batter, and there are no traces of egg yolk. Repeat with another egg. After 2 eggs have been mixed into the batter, stop the mixer and scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
10. Repeat with the rest of the eggs, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom as you go (I do this after every 2 eggs that I add).
11. When all the eggs have been added, add the vanilla and mix for a further 30 sec - 1 minute.

Mixing in the flour by hand - You will need a long-handled baking spatula to fold the flour into the batter

1. Stop the mixer and remove the mixing bowl from your stand mixer. Sift about ¼ of the flour over the batter. Fold the flour into the batter, while rotating the bowl after each fold, until the flour is just incorporated. Repeat 3 more times with the remaining flour, so that you carefully incorporate all of the flour while folding it into the batter (rather than vigorous mixing). This will give you a smooth cake batter.
2. Make sure there are no dry bits of flour in your batter.

Mixing in the flour with a stand mixer

1. Reduce the speed of the stand mixer to the lowest setting (stir speed in a kitchen aid mixer).
2. Add ¼ of the sifted flour into the batter and mix for a few seconds until just incorporated. Repeat with 3 more additions. After the final addition, only mix the batter until you have a smooth batter. Stop immediately.

Baking the pound cakes

1. Weigh the mixing bowl with the batter inside. Subtract the weight of the empty bowl to get the weight of the batter. Divide this in two, as this will be the amount of batter needed for each cake pan.
2. Add an equal amount of the batter to the bottom of each loaf pan. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter evenly to the corners of the pan. Add the rest of the batter (equally divided between the two loaf pans) to the two loaf pans. Evenly spread on top to have an even surface. Gently shake the pans (just a little) to make sure the batter is evenly spread (don’t knock the cake pans on the counter!).
3. Transfer the loaf pans into the oven (ideally in the lower third of the oven, and right in the center of the oven rack). Set the timer for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, rotate the cake pans, and bake for a further 20 minutes.
4. Check the cake after a total of 60 minutes of bake time to test the done-ness of the cake with a clean toothpick or a cake tester. Insert the cake tester into the cake, and if it comes out clean, then the cake is done. In my oven, these cakes take about 67 - 70 minutes to bake.
5. Remove the cakes from the oven, and allow them to cool down for about 10 - 15 minutes. Carefully turn the cakes out onto a cooling wire rack to cool down completely.
6. Eat warm, or at room temperature.

How to store pound cake

1. When the cake is at room temperature, it can be wrapped well with plastic wrap, and stored in an airtight container, and be consumed within a week. If the cake isn’t wrapped properly, it can become stale, BUT stale pound cake will taste even better when toasted or grilled.
2. OR you can wrap the cake in plastic wrap, and then foil, and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.